Death is Mine
by LadyLaceBlack
Summary: When Harry is thrown back in time after an extended stay in Azkaban, Harry finds out new things he didn't know in his previous life. And it quickly changes how he does things. *Please read warnings inside*
1. Chapter 1

**Title:** Death is Mine

 **Disclaimer:** J. K. Rowling and associates own _Harry Potter_ and all characters from the series. Any characters I make are completely fictional and neither belongs in the original _Harry Potter_ series nor in real life. I am writing this for fun, not profit.

 **Pairings:** TR(LV)/HP, Post HP/GW

 **Rating:** R (May or may not change rating at a letter time)

 **Warnings:** Um… pretty much anything my twisted mind can come up with that I think will suit the story?... So yeah, BEWARE! (Will update warnings in each new chapter.) **Slash, Bashing**

 **Summary:** When Harry is thrown back in time after an extended stay in Azkaban, Harry finds out new things he didn't know in his previous life. And it quickly changes how he does things.

 _ **Author's Note:**_ __To **Vukk** : I got your review and you are correct that the amounts are very ridiculous. I'd actually put them like that as a reminder to look up proper amounts and it still somehow managed to slip my mind. Thanks for the reminder though, I've edited those amounts now that my US Dollar to UK Pound to Wizarding Currency research and calculations are done. The amounts should be more realistic now.  
To **fifespice** , **Fae0306** , **changekiss** , **PerdidoKitsune** , and **Squirrellock** I thank you for your encouragements and I hope to have an update soon.  
To **Guest** 1 and 2, I've fixed the monetary amounts as I'd originally meant thanks to **Vukk** reminding me. For the rest of the questions asked, you will have to wait to see how the story goes. Also, if you have a problem with whether or not Harry is gay, then you should have thought about that before clicking on my story to read. Harry is **clearly** listed as being paired with **Tom Marvolo Riddle** and has been listed as such since I posted the story. But, I have now added **Slash** and **Bashing** to the **Warnings**. Now that I have everything edited the way it needs to be, I suggest that before you read any future stories and complain about certain points, you should read the **Pairings** and **Warnings** so as not to seem a fool.

Thank you,

 **Lady Lace Black**

 _ **Chapter 1 ~ How Easy the Fall**_

 _Harry stepped into the quaint country cottage that he shared with Ginny and their three kids._

" _Hello! I'm home!"_

 _Normally, as soon as he yelled the "Hello" he'd hear feet pounding down the stairs, then as he finished with "home", his arms would be filled with his children as Ginny looked on with a fond smile. So when the house was completely silent, Harry felt a cold chill run up his spine._

Harry blinked and shook his head.

 _Aurors filled the house as Harry stared, pale and shaking at the blood. There was so much blood._

Harry gripped his head and whimpered as he curled up into a ball on the dirty floor.

" _Harry James Potter, you are under arrest for the murder and torture of one Ginerva Molly Potter nee Weasley, one James Sirius Potter, one Albus Severus Potter, and one Lily Luna Potter."_

"Harry, it's me Hermione. Can you hear me?"

 _Harry screamed his innocence as the Aurors used a Body-Bind on him and dragged him away. Other Aurors held his friends back, not listening to their screams as they cried out at the injustice._

"Harry, it took us ten years, but we got you a trial. We'll prove you're innocent, don't worry."

" _You deserve the Kiss for what you did Potter. I always knew that you would take up You-Know-Who's cause eventually. A wizard with as much power as you not turning Dark? Hah! The only reason Dumbledore never turned Dark was because he always had evil to fight. But you, you probably got bored, what with no wars, no Dark Lords to_ _battle_ _. You "heroes" always need_ _someone to fight, always need to be the knight in shining armor_ _."_

Harry choked on air as he tried to breathe. He looked around. The Aurors were dragging him through the Ministry. For his trial he supposed.

 _The laughter had not quite died from his face, but his eyes widened in shock._

 _Harry released Neville, though he was unaware of doing so. He was jumping down the steps again, pulling out his wand, as Dumbledore, too, turned towards the dais._

 _It seemed to take Sirius an age to fall: his body curved in a graceful arc as he sank backwards through the ragged veil hanging from the arch._

 _Harry saw the look of mingled fear and surprise on his godfathers wasted, once-handsome face as he fell through the ancient doorway and disappeared behind the veil, which fluttered for a moment as though in a high wind, then fell back into place._

 _Harry heard Bellatrix Lestrange's triumphant scream, but knew it meant nothing - Sirius had only just fallen through the archway, he would reappear from the other side any second . . ._

 _But Sirius did not reappear._

H coughed and saw the elevators ahead. Without even thinking, Harry twisted out of the grip of the Auror who held him and ran for the elevators. He didn't even notice the spells that were shot at him as he slammed into the elevator and hit a button. The elevator was already gone by the time the Aurors reached it.

 _"Avada Kedavra!"_

 _"Expelliarmus!"_

 _The bang was like a cannon blast, and the golden flames that erupted between them, at the dead center of the circle they had been treading, marked the point where the spells collided. Harry saw Voldemort's green jet meet his own spell, saw the Elder Wand fly high, dark against the sunrise, spinning across the enchanted ceiling like the head of Nagini, spinning through the air toward the master it would not kill, who had come to take full possession of it at last. And Harry, with the unerring skill of the Seeker, caught the wand in his free hand as Voldemort fell backward, arms splayed, the slit pupils of the scarlet eyes rolling upward. Tom Riddle hit the floor with a mundane finality, his body feeble and shrunken, the white hands empty, the snakelike face vacant and unknowing. Voldemort was dead, killed by his own rebounding curse, and Harry stood with two wands in his hand, staring down at his enemy's shell._

Harry started at the archway, unsure of how he got there. He could still hear the whispering, and if he listened close enough he thought he could almost hear Sirius' voice among them. As the door to the room blasted open, Harry turned and smiled ever so slightly at the Aurors, and at the Weasley clan who stood in the doorway.

"I'm so tired…"

Hermione eyes widened as she rushed forward.

"HARRY NO!"

But it was too late. Harry gave her a kind smile, then took a step back and floated away as the Veil grabbed him.

XxXxXxXx

Harry woke and his whole body ached, as if he'd been sent through a small tube as a herd of centaurs stampeded over him. Why did it hurt? It hadn't hurt when he got AK'd by Voldemort. Groaning, Harry opened his eyes and blinked at the sight before him. It had been years since he'd seen this place, but he remembered his little cupboard under the stairs… although, it seemed bigger then the last time he'd been in it. Harry blinked and sat up, only to stare in wonder at his feet. Or, at least, what he assumed were his feet.

Then he looked at his body… He was tiny! And in a one-piece pajama that was clearly too big for him. It even had a hole in the foot that his own foot couldn't reach because his legs were too short. His hands were covered by the arms of the pajama, so he had to shift his arms quite a bit to pop his hands out. They were just as tiny has the rest of him. He would have said he looked like a toddler, but he wasn't nearly as chubby as any of his kids had been when they were two or three. In fact, he looked down right skeletal for a child that young.

Suddenly the door to the cupboard opened and a large beefy man who looked similar to a blonde walrus stood there. Harry blinked as he stared up at Uncle Vernon. He looked younger then the last time he had seen the man.

"Out Boy!"

Harry blinked in surprise and Vernon's face turned a bit red.

"I SAID OUT! ARE YOU STUPID?!"

Harry scrambled out of the cupboard and stared around at the hallway. Suddenly, a beefy fist cuffed him upside the head.

"Kitchen Boy! NOW!"

Harry scrambled his way into the kitchen, his brain on overdrive, as he ducked another cuff to the head. Why was he a small child back at the Dursley's?

" _Harry, did you hear about what happened in the Department of Mysteries?"_

" _Oh, about the break in? Yeah, everybody's heard about that."_

" _Yes, but did you know that they where trying to steal Time Turner's?"_

" _Time Turner's? Why? You can only go back a few hours with one of those, right? It's not like they can go back in time and save Voldemort."_

" _But I think they were trying to make a super powerful time turner. It's why they needed so much sand!"_

" _What's it matter Hermione? They broke the time turners in the Death Chamber."_

" _Yes, but when the Unspeakables gathered up the time sand, they found over 80% of it missing!"_

" _Well… maybe it fell through the Veil?"_

Harry gapped in shock as his uncle cuffed him again. Oh god! He'd gone back in time! And he hadn't even done it like a normal person either! He was stuck reliving his life!

"Hurry up Boy! You're not going to make my little Duddykins late for his first day of school!"

Harry blinked in surprise at his horse faced Aunt. Was he really this small when he first started school?

XxXxXxXx

School went differently for Harry this time around. Because he knew that he wouldn't be allowed to make friends, he purposely ignored the other students. Instead, he spent his time reading books and doing homework. He always made two copies. One, where he did his best, and the other where he purposely made enough mistakes to do worse than Dudley. He kept the good copies for himself and hid them until the end of each school year. At first, it confused his teachers, but soon they got used to Harry's odd habit of turning in extremely poor work throughout the year and then turning in excellent work on the last day. A rumor made it around to the teacher's that young Harry Potter was secretly a genius who was trying to hide it from his family. After his third year, the teachers moved Harry to a different class. They told the Dursley's that it was because Harry couldn't handle the same work as Dudley. The school's suspicions were proved right when, instead of being concerned for their nephew, the Dursley's practically celebrated his supposed stupidity and their son's supposed greatness.

That was the first time the school called Child Services with their worries. Child services were unable to do anything with just the few concerns that the school had, but they started a file just in case.

Pretty soon though, the Dursley's noticed that Harry was doing much harder homework then Dudley. Angry that they'd been tricked, Vernon took his belt to the boy. It wasn't the first time that Harry had been whipped with it, but it was the first time that Vernon had ever used the buckle end. Harry distinctly remembered that Vernon hadn't started using the buckle end till after he got his Hogwarts letter before. The next day, Harry walked stiffly due to pain and his teachers noticed.

That was the second time the school called Child Services.

Harry wouldn't admit to the Dursley's causing the whip marks so Child Services let it go, but added another report to their file for him and gave a warning to the Dursley's. Unfortunatly, that angered them as the warning was given in front of the neighbors, and oh "what would they say" so Harry was starved for a week and beaten again. They pulled Harry out of school, informing the school that Harry would be in the hospital for psychiatric evaluations do to "harming himself".

The third time the school called Child Services was because they received no report from a hospital or psychiatric physician concerning Harry's health, mental or otherwise.

The police were called in to assist Child Services with removing both boys from the Dursley household and were both shocked and disgusted to find the smaller of the two locked away in the cupboard, bloody and unconscious, while the other boy gorged himself on cake and watched the telly.

Harry gave an account of what happened and showed them his bruises and whip marks. Vernon and Petunia were sent to jail for child abuse, something that got the neighbors talking and horrified Petunia, and Marge took in the boys. However, those living arrangements didn't last very long. After one of the neighbors happened to walk by as Harry was being attacked by Marge's dogs as Marge and Dudley looked on, the police quickly removed the boys from Marge's care and ordered the dogs to be put down.

With no other family members, Dudley and Harry were both put into an orphanage, with clear instructions from the police that neither boy was to be adopted by any of the Dursleys. However, Marge was able to convince a friend of hers to adopt Dudley within a month, leaving Harry alone. But that month had done it's damage and Harry was unable to gain any friends even after his cousin left. So instead he focused on studying.

XxXxXxXx

When Harry turned nine, the orphanage took a trip to London. Harry used the opportunity to escape to Diagon Alley.

Harry, whose hair had grown quite long, about shoulder length all around, during his stay at the orphanage, was easily able to hide his scar before he walked into the Leaky Cauldron. Catching sight of a familiar group of red-heads, Harry tailed them so that he could get into Diagon Alley, being as that he didn't have a wand to do so himself.

"Oh~! My Charlie, a seventh year already. And Quidditch Captain!"

"Mum, it's not that great."

"Nonsense!"

Harry couldn't help but smile as the twins rolled their eyes at their mother.

"Mum, how are you gonna pay for Charlie to get a new broom when you can't even afford to get us new robes?"

"Professor Dumbledore agreed that it would be a good reward for Charlie so he's allowing us to take some money out of vault 687 to pay for it. Professor Dumbledore is such a kind man."

Harry blinked in surprise as he recognized his fault number. He didn't mind letting the Weasleys borrow money, after all they were his family, but even he thought that they should buy new clothes before they bought something like a broom. And why had Dumbledore given permission to the Weasleys in the first place? After all, in this timeline, Harry hadn't met the Weasleys yet.

Harry continued to muse over this information as he slipped into Diagon Alley behind the Weasleys and then continued to sneak around them and make his way to Gringotts. Harry's faith in Dumbledore told him that everything was fine, but his gut instinct said otherwise.

It didn't take long for Harry to slip past the crowds, though he got some funny looks from adults. Sighing, Harry made his way into Gringotts and up to the Head Goblins desk. He'd learned a few things in the previous timeline.

" _Harry! You don't know how to greet a goblin with proper respect yet?!"_

" _Well, it's not like I ever had the chance to learn Mione."_

" _Hmph! Well you're going to learn now!"_

"Good Morning Head Goblin Ragnuk. May our dealings increase gold for you, your clan, and all who deal with Gringotts."

After a second, a white haired head peaked over the edge of the desk and looked down at Harry, the face splitting into a frightening grin.

"Good Morning Young Master Potter. May our dealings fill your vault with gold. How can I help you?"

"As the last of the Potter's, I request emancipation so that I may access the title of Lord Potter and all Potter vaults. I also request to hear the Will of James Potter."

The grin seemed to widen before the head disappeared from view and Harry heard the goblin clambering down from his perch. Soon enough, the Head Goblin was on the floor and beckoning for Harry to follow him, which the boy did.

XxXxXxXx

The paperwork for emancipation didn't take long and within ten minutes Harry was considered an adult in the wizarding world, due to his status as the last living Potter, even though he was only nine years old and could easily be mistaken for five.

"Now, being as you are Lord of the Potters now, I must tell you that Albus Dumbledore, Chief Warlock of the Wizengamot, requested for the Will of James Potter to be sealed."

Harry's eyebrows shot up in surprise. This was news to him.

"However, Lily Potter made a Will, as well. This is not a well known fact and the late Lady Potter's Will is not sealed. Would you like to hear it?"

"uh… Yes… please!"

Ragnuk smirked at Harry's surprise but called for a goblin to bring him the Will. As they waited, a goblin who Harry recognized as Griphook poked his head into the meeting room.

"Head Goblin, a red-haired family is requesting access to vault 687 per orders of Albus Dumbledore. However, I noticed that Mr. Dumbledore was no longer listed as the Custodian of the account."

"That is correct. Lord Potter here has recently been emancipated. Albus Dumbledore's job as Custodian of the Potter account is over."

Griphook grinned and ducked back out to inform the Weasleys that they could not access the vault. Harry almost called him back to say that they could, but a strange look from Ragnuk stopped him. Raising an eyebrow, Harry didn't get a chance to ask him about it as a goblin ran in with his mother's Will.

"Here we are. _The Last Will and Testament of Lily Lynn Potter nee Evans_."

"My mum's middle name was Lynn?"

"Yes. Now would you like me to read this or not?"

"Yes sir…"

Ragnuk continued to glare for a minute before he cleared his throat and continued.

" _I, Lily Lynn Potter nee Evans, declare that this is my last Will and Testament. I revoke all prior Wills and codicils._

 _I bequeath my silver and green box with the lily lattice work to Severus Tobias Snape._ "

"Really? She actually left something for Snape? I hadn't known she'd forgiven him."

"He doesn't know either."

"… huh."

Ragnuk watched him for a second before looking down at the parchment and continuing.

" _I bequeath the remainder of my fortune and estates to my son, Harry James Potter_. _Should my husband and I both die before Harry is of age, I leave guardianship to Sirius Orion Black. If he is unable or unwilling, then I leave guardianship to Frank Harfang Longbottom and Alice Marie Longbottom. If they are unable or unwilling I leave guardianship to Severus Tobias Snape. If he is unable, unwilling, or still loyal to the Dark Lord, I ask that Harry be emancipated as early as legally possible and leave his care to the Potter house-elves. And under no circumstances should Harry be left under the guardianship of Petunia and/or Vernon Dursley._ "

Harry blinked in surprise. Even though he now knew that his mum had forgiven Snape, he hadn't that that she trusted Snape with her kid. And he was glad that his mother hadn't wanted him left in the care of the Dursleys.

"Hmm, yes, short and to the point. I quite liked writing up your mother's Will. Your father made sure to leave hidden messages for people in his, it was quite irritating."

Harry grinned but silently agreed that he liked that his mum had been straight forward. He didn't know if he'd be able to decode his father's, even if he really was a 36 year old in a 9 year olds body.

"Though James Potter's Will is sealed, I can tell you it coincided with Lily Potter's Will… though he called Mr. Snape a… Greasy Sniveling Git, was it? Yes, I think that's what it was."

Harry couldn't help but shake his head at his father's childishness.

"Um… about the silver and green box for Snape… Do you think I could deliver it to him?"

Ragnuk raised an eyebrow but considered it for a minute before nodding and Harry smiled. He wondered if Snape was gonna be as much of a git to a nine year old him as he was to an eleven year old him.

"Now, about the Weasley's… As Lord Potter, I would like to know if you wish to continue the allowance that your previous Custodian allowed them?"

"Allowance?"

"Yes… I believe it was 5,321 galleons, 4 sickles, and 24 knuts per year."

"What?!"

Harry stared in shock at the goblin in front of him.

"Bu-but that would be… 26,500 pounds!"

Ragnuk nodded, his face showing no emotions about it either way.

"Yes, and that's not including the salary you pay them."

"…Salary?"

"Yes, it says here that they are hired as your… wizarding foster family. They receive 10,642 galleons, 9 sickles, and 20 knuts a year for that."

Harry's jaw dropped and Ragnuk hid a smile as the boy's eyes nearly popped out of his head.

"And you are also paying for Miss Ginerva Weasley to attend Briarwood Primary Finishing School for Young Ladies, which seems to be another 1,926 galleons, 15 sickles, and 12 knuts… per term."

"WHAT?!"

Ragnuk smirked and picked up another scroll.

"Yes, Briarwood teaches girls from pureblood families who are between the ages of 3 and 10 how to be the perfect wives for the most eligible pureblood bachelors. I do believe that if one has the money, they also have a secret course for seducing and pleasing their chosen man. That's, of course, a separate cost."

"BUT THEY'RE KIDS!"

"Well that would be why it is a secret course. After all, no one wants people to know that they've allowed their children to learn such things before they're even Hogwarts age. The cost for those lessons, for young Miss Weasley, is 1,000 galleons per term."

Harry stared in horror as flashes of him and Ginny on their marriage night flew through his mind.

"You also pay for her out-of-school lessons. This include dance lessons with the world famous dancer Amias Delacour. And since Briarwood expects their girls to have house-elves and marry into a family that has them, Ginerva Weasley is also taking lessons in cooking, sewing, house-keeping, and child raising. All from the best teachers of course."

"This finishing school doesn't teach child raising?"

"Of course not, most children in those pure-blood families are generally raised by house-elf nannies."

Harry blinked and quickly decided to ignore the stupidity of rich purebloods for now.

"Ok… so these lessons… how much am I paying for all of this?!"

"Briarwood itself is 5,853 galleons and 7 sickles a year, the dancing lessons are 13,040 galleons a year, and the other lessons, all together, is less then 500 galleons a year."

"So… 19,393 galleons and 7 sickles a year… Just for Ginny?! How the hell do I even afford all that?!"

"As to how you have that much money, your ancestors seemed to be very, and I do mean very, lucky in their investments. You currently earn 72,289 galleons 2 sickles and 19 knuts per year."

"… Please, please don't tell me that."

Ragnuk chuckled.

"If the thought of that much money makes you nervous, be glad that you are neither a Black nor a Malfoy. For even though the Potter Family is the third richest family in the world, the Black family earns just over 80,000 galleons a year and the Malfoy's earn just over 76,000 galleons a year."

Harry blinked and then after a second blinked again.

"Wait… third richest in the WORLD?!"

"Well yes, you can't possibly think that there are many in world who earn over 20,000 galleons a year, let alone 70,000."

"I'm hallucinating… I must be…"

Ragnuk chuckled again.

"Well, if it calms you down, over 50% of your remaining yearly income is going to the… what was it called? ... Ah yes, the Order of the Phoenix War Fund."

"… Who ordered that?"

"Well originally, your father was paying 1000 galleons a year to the war fund, but while Albus Dumbledore was your Custodian, he raised it up to 9,250 galleons per year for the first 5 years and then up to 18,500 gallons per year after that."

Harry shook his head in wonder. How in the world could a war cost that much?

"Since your parents died, the fund has accumulated 101,750 galleons just from you alone. If you allow me my opinion, I believe that is quite enough for you to pay for a war that is over. Would you like me to end payments to it?"

"… Yes. I want you to stop that as well as stop the money to the Weasley's… Am I paying anyone else for anything?"

Ragnuk grinned and pulled a scroll of parchment from his file and handed it over to Harry.

"I'm so glad you asked."

 _ ***Author's Note***_

 _ **To All My Dear Readers,**_

 _ **Originally Chapters 1 and 2 were the same chapter. However, being as that it showed up on Google Docs as 34 pages long, I decided to split it up into two chapters. So, as a "Hurray, I finally published something on ", I'm posting both chapters at once. (I originally wasn't going to do this, as my plan was to write the entire story up and then post weekly updates, but, well, I guess I never do anything the way I plan it. In fact, this story has already strayed VERY far from how I originally planned it, you'll see how much more in Chapter 2. But, hopefully, my overall goal with this story does not change or this could end up very confusing…)**_

 _ **Very sincerely yours,**_

 _ **Lady Lace Black**_


	2. Chapter 2

**Title:** Death is Mine

 **Disclaimer:** J. K. Rowling and associates own _Harry Potter_ and all characters from the series. Any characters I make are completely fictional and neither belongs in the original _Harry Potter_ series nor in real life. I am writing this for fun, not profit.

 **Pairings:** TR(LV)/HP, Post HP/GW

 **Rating:** R (may or may not change rating at a later time)

 **Warnings:** Um… pretty much anything my twisted can come up with that I think will suit the story?... So yeah, BEWARE! Also, extremely slow updates. (What can I say? It took me months to get the first two chapters written…) **Slash, Bashing (of multiple characters), Gender-bending** , **AU** , **Time-Travel** ,

 **Summary:** When Harry is thrown back in time after an extended stay in Azkaban, Harry finds out new things he didn't know in his previous life. And it quickly changes how he does things.

 _ **Chapter 2 ~ Changes**_

It took over an hour to figure out whom he was paying for what and to stop payments for anything ridiculous. (Like Dumbledore's Fashion Fund, which was a ridiculous monthly payment of 500 galleons. How someone could spend that much on just clothes, Harry had no idea.) By the time they were done, Harry was angry, hungry, and feeling kind of betrayed (after all, with it being 8 years since his parents death he should have had well over 550,000 galleons in savings plus anything from before their deaths, but he now had less than 80,000 galleons in his vaults)… making for a very irritable nine year old. Though, since his emotions and attention span was based off of his nine year old body, he didn't linger on Dumbledore's thievery long. He'd deal with it later.

"Now, Lord Potter, I believe that it would be a good time for a lunch break. Would you like to continue this meeting in two hours?"

Harry grunted an affirmative as he pushed himself up out of the chair and stretched, hearing a few bones pop from sitting still for so long.

 **XxXxXxXx**

After the lunch break, the rest of the day was spent getting the Potter accounts in order, destroying a marriage contract that Dumbledore had started but had never been official due to his previous status being a Custodian and not a Guardian, and starting a process to recoup at least some of his losses. It was four in the evening before Harry was able to leave Gringotts, carrying a copy of his mother's will and the little box left for Snape. Diagon Alley was nearly deserted by this point, so Harry quickly made his way through the Alley and through the Leaky Cauldron into Muggle London.

Now that he was there, however, he realized that he had no idea how to call the Knight Bus without a wand. With a sigh and a quick, if not entirely thought-out, plan Harry wandered back into the Leaky Cauldron and up to the bar. He had to climb on a stool to be tall enough to be seen, but Harry figured it would help with his cute and helpless act anyway.

"Hello ."

The old bartender blinked at the tired looking boy and wondered what such a young child was doing there with, seemingly, no adult.

"… Hello? And who are you? Where are your parents little one?"

"I'm Ha-...Hadrian. Hadrian Prince. Papa is at home and Mama's in heaven. Could you help me call the Knight Bus please?"

Tom, though a perpetual bachelor, was worried about the fact that a seemingly four or five year old child was wandering around London, but he nodded and walked around the bar, helped Harry off the stool, and started walking him out to Muggle London, a protective hand on the boy's shoulder.

"Why didn't your Papa come with you?"

Harry adopted a sheepish face and showed Tom the box he held.

"I wanted to get a birthday present for Papa without him knowing… You won't tell him, will you?"

Harry let his eyes go wide, the perfect picture of a young child who was anxious about a surprise being ruined. Tom chuckled at him and patted him on the head.

"No, I won't tell him. But you promise me that as soon as you're on the Knight Bus, you go straight home, ok? Do you have money for the fare?"

Harry nodded, an innocent happy smile on his face, which seemed to satisfy the old bartender. The man glanced around real quick, before pulling out his wand and calling the Knight Bus.

Within minutes, a black-haired boy going by Hadrian Prince was holding on for dear life as the Knight Bus hurtled towards Spinner's End, no-one the wiser of the whereabouts of Harry Potter.

 **XxXxXxXx**

Soon enough, Harry was standing outside a worn looking house and couldn't help but hesitate to knock. But has Harry remembered Snape's last moments, he gathered his Gryffindor courage and knocked.

There was complete silence for so long that Harry started to wonder if maybe Snape was not home. But just as Harry was about to turn to leave, the door opened to reveal a tall, sallow man in all black. Putting back on the mask of innocent child, Harry smiled up at the man that would be and had been his Potions teacher.

"Severus Snape?"

The man didn't react for a few moments and Harry had just started shifting nervously, when the man finally nodded. Nearly sighing in relief, Harry pulled his mother's Will out of his bag and handed it to Snape.

The man glanced at the title, then paled and beckoned Harry inside. Knowing it would annoy Snape, which was fun even if he did respect the man, Harry skipped inside, careful not to drop the box. The door was slammed shut behind him and Snape briskly lead the way to a comfortable sitting room, sitting in a nice leather armchair and started to read the Will, without a glance at Harry.

"It says that there is a box for me?"

Harry, startled at the sudden question from the previously silent man, jumped but quickly recovered and handed over the pretty green and silver box. Snape held it gently, his face unreadable before he set it on the side table and went back to reading the Will. It didn't take long for his face to pale, from panic or anger Harry couldn't tell.

"You're Harry?"

"Yes sir."

"And I suppose you want me to be your... guardian?" His lip curled as he said the last word with a sneer.

"Actually, no sir. The goblins helped me get emancipated today before the reading of the Will, or else I wouldn't have even known about it. I just wanted to meet one of my mother's friends."

Snape raised an eyebrow and Harry nearly flinched when he realized the he'd only mentioned his mother. Even though it was his mother's Will, the choices of potential guardians was usually done by both parents so most people who were smart enough or old enough to be emancipated would have assumed that Snape was a friend of both Potters unless said person knew of their History. Though, Harry supposed with a mental shrug, the goblin had mentioned how James Potter had referred to the man and if questioned about it, he could easily use that.

Snape, however, said nothing as he continued to study Harry. Harry made sure not to look the man in the eyes since he still sucked at Occlumency and he wasn't sure how the man would react to a time-traveling de-aged Harry… But he figured probably not well.

"So, I'm going to assume that since you are legally an adult, you will not be returning to your previous accommodations?"

Harry shuddered at the thought of returning to the orphanage, though it was still better then the Dursleys. Luckily, they were still in prison.

"… Have you decided where you will stay?"

"Well, the Will said something about house - elves so..."

"So you figured you'd call them and have them take you to whatever home they think would be best for you? Unfortunately, the majority of the Potter house elves are dead and the rest are currently loaned out to Hogwarts, as per orders of your... previous custodian of affairs."

Harry scowled and furrowed his brow in thought until he heard a sigh. Looking up, he saw Snape's dark eyes watching him.

"Until you are able to find suitable accommodations... If you so desire, you may stay here. I just require that you do not go by the name Potter while here, that you perform some chores, keep yourself and the room you stay in clean."

Harry hesitated but nodded, at which point Snape swept out of his chair and strode purposefully towards the stairs. Harry jumped up and followed him quickly. The house was small, but in fair shape. Snape showed him to a small room, not much bigger than the Dursley's smallest bedroom, but it already had a bed, desk, and wardrobe in it. The room was layered in dust, as if it hadn't been entered for years.

"You'll need to clean it, but you may use this room for however long you are to stay with me. I would, however, appreciate if you found your new home before the start of the school term."

Harry nodded and after a quick glance at the boy, Snape strode away.

 **XxXxXxXx**

It took only a few hours to clean the room, a few days to sort through his affairs, and a few weeks to decide what to do. Then it took about 2 more weeks to gather the things he needed. The first day of his metamorphosis, as he secretly called it, got a raise of eyebrows from his future Potions Professor. His previously shoulder length hair had grown overnight, a potion that Harry had brewed himself, and was now so long that three feet of it trailed along on the floor. Of course, when Harry stepped on the long tresses, causing him to trip and fall on his face, he got a smirk from the potions master and the boy glared at him with a ferocity that Severus secretly likened to a kitten.

The second day, Harry was able to walk around Spinners End, free of glasses. This caused the first wave of concern that Severus Snape felt for the boy, as he knew how difficult the potion was to brew and how dangerous it could be if brewed wrong.

The third day, Severus paled when Harry sat at the breakfast table and the man noticed that the boy's face looked decidedly more feminine. Changes to bone structure were extremely dangerous for anyone, especially a person performing the ritual by themselves. For a child, they should be impossible. Not to mention how extremely painful it was.

The fourth day, Severus didn't wait for Harry to show up at the table. He didn't even wait for the dawn sun to finishing it's rise of the horizon. He quickly made his way into Harry's room and very nearly died of a heart attack at the sight before him.

Laying on the floor, on top of a series of runes, transmutation circles, and blood, was a very naked, very female, Harry Potter.

It took hours for Severus to clean the child and the room up, in the process he found the stones that held the silencing wards in place. Also, during the process to heal the child, his spells found the evidence of the past abuse the child had suffered.

When Harry finally woke up on the fifth day, he was treated to, decidedly, the scariest side of Severus Snape he'd ever seen.

"WHAT IN BLASTED HELL WERE YOU THINKING?!"

Harry shrunk back into his pillow as his eyes grew wide, taking in the form of the furious man before him.

" **DO YOU NOT REALIZE YOU COULD HAVE DIED?! NOT ONLY WERE YOU BREWING POTIONS BEYOND ANY LEVEL OF HOGWARTS SCHOOLING BUT YOU WERE ALSO PERFORMING RITUALS THAT, IN THE CASE OF THE CHANGE TO YOUR BONE STRUCTURE, ARE REQUIRED TO HAVE AT LEAST THREE RITUAL MASTERS, ONE MASTER HEALER, AND THREE INITIATES OF EITHER PROFESSION TO PERFORM IT AND IN THE CASE OF YOUR CHANGE OF GENDER REQUIRES AT LEAST FOUR RITUAL MASTERS, THREE HEALERS, AND SEVEN POTIONS MADE BY AT LEAST ONE CERTIFIED POTIONS MASTER! AND WITH A PAST HISTORY OF PHYSICAL ABUSE AND STARVATION! YOU COULD HAVE KILLED YOURSELF! NOT ONLY THAT, YOU COULD HAVE DRAINED ANY MAGICAL PERSON OR CREATURE WITHIN A SEVEN KILOMETER RADIUS OF YOURSELF!** "

Harry flinched at the thought but looked Snape squarely in the eye with no sign of backing down.

"I'm sorry I worried you, but I knew I could do it. I've done the same thing once before, for a friend, and I prepared and powered everything myself. And I have a very good reason for doing things this way."

Harry could see that the man had trouble keeping his temper at bay,in fact he scoffed at the child, but after Harry's gaze remained steady and confident, the potions master finally sat down on the edge of the bed and looked at Harry with a demand for an explanation blazing in his black eyes.

"Well, I'm sure that, by now, it is known by certain people that I am emancipated, no longer with my family, and, as far as anyone knows, missing. So plenty of people will be looking for The-Boy-Who-Lived… So, I figured… The easiest way to not be found is to **not** be a boy at all. They won't give a girl a second glance. And a glamour is out of the question because certain people can see right through them."

"Just because you change your gender-"

"I know! I know! A change in gender isn't all. A name change is required as well. And I know that this won't fool everyone forever… but it will fool everyone just long enough for me to make sure that certain things stay the way they are and other things get changed the way they need to be before I turn eleven and start school."

"...You seem to have thought this through to some extent. However, the risk you took to perform those magicks when you are still malnourished and underweight shows me that you're not entirely capable of looking after yourself like an adult. Therefore, we will be going to Gringotts and annulling your emancipation-"

"NO! THAT WOULD RUIN EVERYTHING I'VE WORKED FOR UP UNTIL NOW!"

"What do you propose?! I can't, in good conscience, sit by and watch you harm yourself!"

"A… A contract! Between us! I won't give you guardianship of me, but I will sign a contract with you so that you and a few others, a council of advisers if you will, have a certain amount of say in what I do, in how I live."

Severus stared at Harry for awhile before he sighed and looked away.

"Who else do you want on this council?"

"Remus Lupin-", Snape humorlessly snorted at that, not surprised at all, "Rubeus Hagrid-", This did earn a VERY surprised look from Severus, "Narcissa Malfoy-", Severus nearly choked as he stared at the child in front of him, "Andromeda Tonks", a raised eyebrow, "Sirius Black-" "He's in Azakaban." "I'll fix that later" another snort, this time with a mumbled phrase that Harry didn't catch "Poppy Pomphrey, you, and… Evelyn Rosier." Severus gapped at Harry as Lady Rosier, Evan Rosier's mother, was a VERY intimidating old woman and was very much a blood purist. She'd never been a Death Eater, like either her husband or son, but she was a very strong, very strict old woman. Even Narcissa Malfoy hated to be around the woman because Evelyn Rosier had the ability to make ANYONE feel like a child. However, Severus also knew that Lady Rosier, though strict and harsh, was also very well known for being a VERY good, though hated, governess.

"And your name? It must be changed quickly, or those that I suspect you wish to keep the secret from will be notified before the week is up."

Harry looked bashfully down as that was one of the things he, now she, hadn't completely decided on yet. Severus sneered, secretly glad that his apparent child hadn't thought of everything.

"Well, I do remember hearing a rumor that Lily, if she'd had a girl, was going to name the child Sera, or Seraphina."

"Sera?... Yeah, Seraphina, Sera for short, Jet… That sounds good!"

"Are you forgetting, Harry James Potter, that Sera Jet will need a middle name?"

Harry blushed and looked down at her hands as she tried to think of a good name for herself.

"By the way, where did you come up with the last name of Jet?"

"Oh, well, my hair is Jet Black and I can't really change my last name to Black without suspicion to I thought Jet would be okay…"

"Well, I personally think your hair is more Onyx or Obsidian rather then Jet for one. Onyx is no better of a last name then Jet is and while Obsidian is longer, Seraphina Obsidian doesn't roll off the tongue well."

Harry wilted a bit, he'd never really been very good with names. It'd taken him months, and a lot of arguing with Ginny, to name each of his children after all. Severus watched the boy for a moment before he sighed, rubbing the bridge between his eyes as he spoke.

"You'll want a common name."

The look Harry shot Snape had the man almost chuckling.

"Yes, I know, 'how dull'. But a common name is a good choice, you're more likely to be over-looked with something along the lines of, say, Sera Green, than Seraphina Jet. And now that I think about it, since this plan of yours is something no one will think of, Albus Dumbledore may suspect it. As he is whom I assume you're hiding from for some reason, he may suspect the name Seraphina or any form of it. Just as he would suspect any names similar to Harry, James, Lily, Evans, or Potter."

After hours of deliberation, and Severus refusing any floral names, the two finally agreed on one, though Harry was still not happy. However, the decision was made and she'd already performed the ritual, with Severus' help this time.

In Gringotts, an owl flew above Ragnuk's head and the goblin grinned. He'd already transferred almost all of the contents of the Potter vaults into identical vaults and had just been waiting for the name. The Potter vaults, of course, had just enough in them to remain open, but no one would be the wiser for where the rest of it went. Picking up the scroll, Ragnuk unfurled it to see the three words written on it in the child's blood.

 _ **Trinity Merilyn Reade**_

 _ ***Author's Note***_

 _ **To All My Dear Readers,**_

 _ **Yes, I know, this chapter was quite a bit shorter than the first one, but it seemed like the perfect point to stop at. I don't know, maybe I've already written something that all of you will despise, but I don't really care… Although, I do sometimes wonder if I should get a beta reader to tell me when I ramble too much… I'm sure I do it, I just can't exactly tell where… Well, my dears, read and review, I'll get the next chapter up as soon as I am able.**_

 _ **Very sincerely yours,**_

 _ **Lady Lace Black**_


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